NEW YORK, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres regrets the withdrawal of the United States from the Human Rights Council, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting his spokesman as saying on Tuesday.
"The secretary-general would have much preferred for the United States to remain in the Human Rights Council. The UN Human Rights architecture plays a very important role in the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide."" said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a note to correspondents.
The remarks came shortly after US Permanent Representative to the UN, Nikki Haley announced in Washington that the US was withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council.
In Geneva, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein responded that the US withdrawal was "disappointing, if not really surprising."
"Given the state of human rights in today's world, the US should be stepping up, not stepping back," Zeid said.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK
